When you think of Desert Rock, the vibrant California sands or the Europeans who emulate that iconic sound; Kyuss and the bands which spawned from their members such as Queens Of the Stone Age, Fu Manchu, John Garcia’s various projects and the hugely influential “Desert Sessions” which have been curated by Josh Homme. You also have Truckfighters (Sweden) and Sons Of Alpha Centauri (England) as examples of how the sound has been adopted by bands not native to the hot sands of Palm Springs. Foot, the Melbourne based 4 piece introduce a new frontier on this ever expanding collection of Desert Rock styled bands. Australia, being largely desert/savannah itself is geographically suited to the name of this sub-genre and this does lead me to wonder if there is a burgeoning desert rock scene in the land where everything is trying to kill you.

“The Balance Of Nature Shifted” is Foot’s third release and it follows two highly acclaimed released, one being self titled (2016), the other being “Buffalo” (2018). This alone suggests that the band know their sound and style and are fully comfortable with it; we aren’t going to get many out of place moments on this, nor are we going to get any strange departures from what we could consider the ‘norm’ for the band. Instead, what we are going to get, according to the folks who do the press releases, is a record which fans of some of the bands listed above will love. Being a fan of several of these bands, let’s see if I love this, or if the balance of nature should replace the ‘f’ with a ‘t’ in the word shifted.

“Despair On Hope Street” is a very apt title for a song released in 2020, the year where everything is just one gigantic clusterfuck and nothing makes sense. It’s opening attack of harsh fuzz and dissonance leads to a real thick and groove laden current of rich and prominent bass, droning guitars and hypnotically hazy vocals. It’s certainly got a charm and captivating edge to it, especially with the simplicity of the melodic progressions and overall song writing. Whilst you can clearly hear the spaced-out desert flair in the song, it does have that subtle grunge like undercurrent a la Dinosaur Jr., Soundgarden and bands like Peace Killers and El Caco. “E-Sports” has a dirty blues twang to its main riff and it really brings out the laid-back desert vibes. A rich overlapping melody, hypnotic drum patterns and the hazy vocals guide you through a tame verse which swings into a big chorus with plenty of presence and melodic vocal lines. Again, it has a good catchy hook, this one being more melodic than groove focused and the tone is just right – crisp overdrive and fuzzy goodness with plenty of reverb to give it that big sounding feel!

From here, the rest of the tracks all have the same basic sound to them. The hazy vocal drones with that slightly haunting and lingering presence, the solid drums, the rich bass tone and the crisp guitars. The main variance comes from certain arrangements in the tracks. “Green Embers” and “Investment” both feature some solid Sabbathian style riff and doomy sections, bringing a heavier feel and some real ominous sounding sections. “Ride It Out” has more of a Smashing Pumpkins styled grunge hook to it, thankfully without the horror that its Billy Corgan’s singing; going from simple loop styled verses to hammering big chord choruses effortlessly. “Break The Altar (Lightshade)” is a slight dip in quality but only in how long it takes to really kick in. A real prime example of a slow-burn track which picks up momentum as it progresses, it only really comes to life round the half-way point and whilst the second half of this track is significantly stronger than the first half, the track just feels like it takes forever to get somewhere.

The final trio of tracks begins with “Neighbours”, a bright sounding, energetic alternative rock styled track which sounds a lot like French band Klone. The hypnotic drums and bright guitar fills fill the track with a real vibrant energy which hasn’t really been seen in the previous tracks, all of which have been more ominous and oppressed in feel. With cleaner and less hazy vocals, you get a better sense of the melodic qualities the vocals bring to the tracks and whilst it is good, the track seems to hit a plateau in how it builds up and once it reaches that level, it just stays there with its subtle hypnotic flair. “Manic Progression” is probably the standout track of the album and it shows how elements present in each track can combine to create a solid slice of desert rock. The slow bluesy air in the beginning of the track slowly becomes more fuzzy and more animated, the way the chord changes shift in and out naturally without feeling forced is done rather well and as the track progresses, the little fills and flair spots which get added in compliment the base composition instead of overshadowing it, adding depth to the track and paving the way for an explosive finish. Closing track “High” pulls things back to the regular style and pacing of the release. With a bright sounding edge to the music, it is delivered with a sorrowful sounding feel, shifting between melodic to harsh, hammering fuzz and as it reaches the later stages of the track, the heavy sounds make the sorrowful air sound rather appealing, a haunting way to finish up a track which ultimately closes the release much like it started, in a hail of static and feedback.

In all, “The Balance Of Nature Shifted” is a solid desert rock release. It wouldn’t have sounded out of place if it was released at the turn of the millennium when the likes of “California Crossing” and “Rated R” were released and drawing more attention to the burgeoning scene emerging from the Californian sands. With its ominous air, it does share a lot in common with the 90’s grunge bands, but it keeps that infectious stoner rock edge, making it a lot more attractive to listen to. In all, it’s a good release which does what it does well. Steady start with a good peak in the middle and once again to close, this is an album you should give a listen to, whether you enjoy desert rock or not.

(7.5/10 Fraggle)

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